The Pacatnamu (Mochica : Pakatnamú, Spanish : Pacatnamú) site is located at the mouth of the Jequetepeque Valley on the northern coast of Peru. Rocky cliffs protect two of its sides and a humanmade wall protects the third. This area of Peru does not have a tropical environment; it gets very little precipitation and has a mild climate, which sometime can become very humid.
Excavation history
Explorers had mentioned the site of Pacatnamu since the late 1800s, but the site was not studied in detail until 1925. Kroeber made some sketches of the main architectural features of the site but only of one portion of the site. Archaeological excavations first began in 1937–39 by German archaeologist Heinrich Ubbelohde-Doering. He conducted more excavations in 1952–53 and again in 1962–63. His work resulted in more excavations of more pyramid complexes.
Wolfgang and Giesela Hecker joined Ubbelohde-Doering on his 1962–63 excavations. They produced a general map of the site as a whole as well as some detailed maps of the architectural features. Richard Keatinge conducted an extensive surface survey in 1974 and published several brief reports on his findings. In 1983 the Instituto Nacional de Cultura in Lima approved the Museum of Cultural History at the University of California, Los Angeles request to do a five-year excavation permit at Pacatanamu. This excavation was extremely successful and from their research they produced hundreds of artifacts and created a chronology of occupation for the site.
Chronology
There are two periods of occupation at the site: an early period when Moche ceramics were in use, and a later period characterized by the use of Chimu ceramics. Brick serration used in construction allows us to see a chronology of occupation within each of those times of occupation. Pacatnamu was unoccupied before the end of Moche IV or the beginning of the Moche V (ca. A.D. 600). During this Moche period some ceremonial architecture was constructed. During this time of occupation ceramics clearly show some Huari influence, but the textiles are clearly Moche. Also the burials from this time simply reflect Moche styles. Near the end of Moche occupation (ca. A.D. 900) a new ceramic form appeared which signaled the end of the Moche occupation. In approximately A.D. 1050 there is a break between the Moche occupation and Chimu occupation.
This period coincides with extensive flooding in this area and a dramatic change in nearly all artifact types. Around A.D. 1100–1150 there was another large population living in Pacatnamu with a new style of ceramics, textiles and bricks, and new architectural forms that help us date the sites occupational periods. The second period of population is known as the Chimu occupation. Major walls were built at this time because of a need for defense. There is a bit of unfinished wall to the north, which suggests they were trying to expand near the end of their occupation. Not much is known about why the Chimu occupation ended but it happened sometime around A.D. 1370. It is possible that more populations occupied Pacatnamu after 1370, but by the time the Inca conquered the North Coast the site was mostly in ruins.
Agriculture and economy
Evidence of animal use
Llama proved to be an important animal at Pacatnamu both for everyday use and ritualistic purposes. Their bones are found in many burials throughout the site. The black vulture was also an important animal of religious life at Pacatnamu; its bones are often found with mass burials associated with ritualistic killings.
Specialization
Many of the buildings show detailed specialization, especially where it was necessary to specialize in making bricks. Textiles are very important to this society; they often show great specialization because of the varied array of weaving patterns and symbols (Hyer 1981). There are textiles found at almost every burial site. Also many buildings in the compound show use of textiles or evidence of textiles being made in the building itself. Pacatnamu has the largest number of Moche textiles found to date. (Donnan and Cock 1986) There is also evidence for bead and copper specialization. The textile business was completely dominated by the elite families, who all specialized in, to some degree, textile production.